GERMANY should abandon its military reluctance and lead Europe, Angela Merkel has been told by a leading historian.
She added: “Germany’s claim to be an integrated member of the Western alliance has never been stronger. Some even speak of Germany as the West’s new leader.
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Germany should abandon its military reluctance and lead Europe, says a leading historian
[Germany] needs to abandon its military reluctance and finally lead in Europe
“But in a world where American power is weakening and authoritarian powers are rising, how long can this last?
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Germany should have a plan to deal with threats in America’s absence
“At the very least Germany, by itself, lacks the military power and therefore the foreign policy clout to keep Europe safe from future Russian aggression; to help bring peace — and thus an end to the refugee crisis — to the Middle East; to do anything about the reconstruction of Libya except talk about it.
“Germans once confronted the problem of unification, and they spent time and resources on solving it. But when it comes to problems in the wider region, Germany has been absent.”
Miss Applebaum said President Trump has been rightly criticised for his verbal attacks on NATO and German politicians have also helped undermine the West’s defences.
She said: “In 2013, Russian jets simulated an attack on Stockholm; in 2016, Russia transferred nuclear-capable missiles to Kaliningrad, in range of Germany. Yet when NATO announced a series of military exercises in Europe in that same year — designed to deter Russian intervention — Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier denounced them as ‘warmongering’.
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Merkel is under pressure to keep Europe safe from future Russian aggression
“If Germany does not want a powerful army, it should still, as a matter of urgency, work with the institutions it has built, most notably the European Union, and especially with France and even Britain (this might be a way to give Britain a future European role) to create a multinational European force that can be deployed in defence of Europe’s borders, and in Europe’s name, at any time.
It could be part of NATO, and should work with NATO. But the era of total dependence on the U.S. military is over.
“As in 1989, if you want to keep what you have achieved, Germany will have to change.”
And let Germany have control of France’s Nuclear arsenal; No thanks